Should You Upload Your CV to LinkedIn?

9th August 2018

There’s no doubt that the tools for job hunters have improved over the last few years. Social media, with platforms like LinkedIn, are proving invaluable in helping careers grow across a wide range of professions.

The mistake that many job seekers make, however, is to simply upload their CV to sites such as LinkedIn – the truth is that this platform is a great marketing opportunity and you’ve got some prime advertising real-estate to play with.

Get it right, and it should draw potential employers to your profile and significantly increase your chance of getting that dream job.

What LinkedIn Is and What It Isn’t

Firstly, LinkedIn in is not a repository for your CV.

It’s a social media platform and success depends on engagement and using its features wisely. Yes, you are going to include details of your history and successes in the world of work, but it’s a lot more nuanced than that.

For example, take the summary section on your LinkedIn page. You have 2000 characters to create a section that really sells and that can include a strong call to action to any prospective employer. Aside from the summary, you have the chance to build your reputation by including interesting and relevant blog posts, and you can even include videos that further highlight your abilities.

In short, LinkedIn isn’t just a list of employers, dates and positions but a way to build your reputation and bring your personality and potential to the fore.

Create a Great LinkedIn Profile

You need to be aware of several things when creating a LinkedIn Profile. It’s not a passive tool that is there to back up any application you make to an employer. It’s there to create the opportunity for active engagement. You need, therefore, to think about your target reader and what sort of impression you want to make with them.

Some of the details you need to include:

Keywords are important: You can make your profile more likely to turn up in searches by prospective employers and contact a strong network of associates by including the right keywords for your industry or sector.

Tailor your Headline: LinkedIn normally does this automatically with your current job and company. But you can tailor this to your needs and that of your viewer, especially useful for those who want to include important keywords or an eye-catching opening.

Your summary needs to rock: Within a small space you must catch the attention and get your viewer to read on or want to find out more. This can be difficult if you don’t know what you are doing. Should you put in bullet points of your best achievements? What about including a professional video introduction? There is a plenty of scope here, and you should learn how to leverage it fully.

Make sure you sweat the small stuff: For instance, you need to make sure that your profile picture looks professional – it’s worth spending some money in getting an image that really hits the mark. Links to important sites are also recommended, especially if you have your own blog or have been mentioned in important news or documents.

Your LinkedIn profile isn’t a one-off upload that you can leave there to promote your next career move. It’s a platform that requires constant work and personal engagement. Certainly, you can upload your CV and a photo and hope for the best, but if you want to create a successful job hunting and networking tool that gets your career moving in the right direction, you need to pay much more attention to it.

At ABCV Solutions, we have the team in place who can advise and help you run your LinkedIn account and get much more out from all that potential. We’ll be able to tailor your content and make sure you are pressing all the right buttons while attracting attention from the employers who really do matter.

Our LinkedIn Optimisation service covers a comprehensive 20-point checklist that includes adding keyword rich content to all sections, utilising LinkedIn latest features and adjusting all background settings to maximise visibility with discipline, location and industry-specific recruiters, groups and companies. This is not a one-size-fits-all exercise; every optimisation is unique in the sense that your industry, discipline and role are fully researched to ensure we match you with your target audience.

If you’d like to proceed with an order for a new CV, LinkedIn Profile or any of our other services to help you secure your next role, you can find out more about our pricing and ordering process at our Services page https://abcvsolutions.com/home/services/.